Coffee



(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. ESTEVENS.

MACHINE EOE SEPAEATING GOEEEE, en.

Patented Ja11|.9,1883:

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(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. B. STEVENS.

MAGHINB FOB. SBPARATING COFFEE, am. l No. 270,501. Patented Ja.11.9,1883.

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N. PETERS Premunwgnphen wmingm n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Erice.,

HENRY B. STEVENS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE L.

SQUIER, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR SEPARATING COFFEE, 84C,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 270,501, dated January9, 1853.

Application filed March 6, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY B. STEVENS, of

, the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Separating Coffeeand other Grains and Seeds, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a machine for separating coffee and other grainsand seeds, consisting of iiat, round, and irregularly-shaped grains orkernels mixed together.

Nearly all coffee as it comes from the producer contains a quantity ofround grains called "pea-grains7 or mocha which command a higher pricein the market than the fiat grains of the same lot of coffee, and it istherefore important to separate these round grains from the rest.

My present invention is an improvemen upon a machine for this purposefor which Let- 1ers Patent of the United States No. 210,817 were grantedto me December 10, 1878;' and it has for its object to effect thedesired separation more completely.

My invention consists of the improvements in the construction of themachine which will be hereinafter' fully described, and pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal verticalsection of my improved machine. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof. Fig.3 is a side elevation thereof'. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation thereof. Fig.5 is a sectional View, on an enlarged scale, of the means by which theupper endless apron is supported. Fig. 6 is a cross-section of the shoe.

Like letters of reference refer to similar parts in the several figures.

A A represent the lower portions of the stationary side frames of themachine, and B B the upper portions of the same. The lower portions, AA,are supported upon a hed-plate, A', and the upper portions, B B, areconnected by a top plate, B'; but these parts may be connectedtransversely in any other suitable manner.

O represents the upper inclined endless apron, arranged in a frame, O',hung between (Model.)

the upper portions, B B, of the stationary side frames.

c represents the driving shaft, arranged centrally above the endlessapron C, and supported in suitable bearings secured to or formed in theupper side frames, B B.

D are hangers, secured to the sides of the frame O', in which theupperendless apron, C, is arranged, and which are hung upon cylindricalcollars or sleeves d, formed with the bearings of the driving-shaft o onthe inner sides of the upper frames, B, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

d' is a removable fastening pin or bolt, passing through an opening inone of the upper side frames, B, and entering one of a series of holes,d2, formed in the lower portion of the adjacent hanger D, concentricwith the fulcrum thereof, so that by shifting the' pin d' from one holeto the other the inclination of the endless apron O can be altered. Anyother suitable device for securing this endless, apron inposition may,however, be employed.

lE represents the driving-pulley by which motion is imparted to thedriving-shaft c, and e is a pulley mounted upon the opposite end of thedriving-shaft and connected with a pulley, e', upon the head roller ofthe endless apron O by au endless belt, 62. Bysupporting the end lessapron O by means of the hangers D concentric with the driving-shaft theinclination of the apron O can be altered at pleasure without affectingthe length of the driving-belt c2..

The tail roller ofthe endless apron O is made adjustable in the frame O'by means of setscrews e3.

F represents the feedhopper, supported upon the top plate, B', andprovided with a verticallyadjustable dischargepipe,f, which delivers thegrain upon the shaking-shoe Gr. The latter is pivoted at its rear end toa crossbar, g, and attached at its front end to the lower end of averticalrod, g', which passes through the free end of a lever, g2, towhichit is adjustably secured bya screw-nut, g3. The lever g2 is pivotedto the top plate, B', at h, and is provided with a downwardly-projectingadjustable pin, lo', which 'rests upon a ratchetwheel, H, secured to thedriving-shaft c, so as to rise and fall with the teeth of the wheel H asthe latter revolves, thereby imparting a vibrating motion to the shoeGr. The latter is contracted at its receiving end below the tube 5 j',and gradually widens toward its discharge end, which latter is madeabout as wide as the apron C. rlhe sides of the shoe are bent npwardly,and its discharge end is provided with an upwardly-projectingiange ordam, t, which retains the grain upon the shoe, and one or more rows ot'openings, t', in the bottom plate ot' the shoe, through which the grainescapes, and by means ot' which the grain is discharged from the entirewidth ot' the discharge end of the shoe and distributed evenly over theentire width ot' the endless apron C. 1n order to facilitate the equaldistribution ot' the grain over the entire width of the shoe, twodiverging grooves or depressions, g4, are formed in the bottom of theshoe in a direction parallel with the diverging sides ofthe shoe.

J represents a board or bar secured trailsversely to the upper side ofthe frame C', above the delivery end of the shaking-slice Gr, andprovided on its under side with one or more rows of stop-pins,j, madeangular or diamondshaped in cross-section, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.J' is a similar board, provided with similar stop-pins,j', and arrangedbelow the shaking-shoe G. The pinsjj' are so arranged that the grainscan freely pass through the spaces between the pins singly when movingat the proper speed, but that all undue accumulation ot' grains or unduespeed ot' grains will be checked thereby. The pins in the npper board,J, operate to move, agitate, and dis tribute small heaps of grain thatmight form upon the endless apron and be carried up by the motionthereof, and interfere with the'free and complete separation of theround grains from the flat and irregularlyshaped grains, while the pinson the lower board, J', operate to arrest any tlat grains that may tendto roll down the inclined endless apron.

K re iresents the lower sugplementary inclinedc idless apron, arrangedin an adjustable frame, K', between the lower stationary side frames, A,and similar. in construction and operation to the upper inclined apron,U. The shaft It of the head roller of the apron K is supported in fixedbearings in the side frames, A, and provided with a pulley, L, to whichmotion is imparted by an endless belt, l, from a pulley, l', mounted onthe main driving-shaft v c. The rear end of the frame K' is suspended bya rope or cord, m, the upper end of which is wound around a shaft, m',turning in bearings mz, and carrying at one end an arm, m3, which isheld in position by means of a pin or bolt, m, passing through anopening in the end ofthe arm m3, and entering one ot' a series of holes,m5,arranged in one ofthe side frames, A, concentric with the shaft m'.By turning the latter in one or the otherdirection the rear end of theframe K' and apron K is raised or 'grains will lodge and be carried up.

lowered and the inclination of the' apron changed at the desire ot' theoperator. The endless apron K is provided with two crossbars, J J',provided with angular or diamond shaped stops j j' in the same manner asthe apron C.

N is a horizontal endless apron, arranged between the lower side frames,A A, below the inclined apron K. Motion is imparted to the apron N bymeans of an endless belt, n, running over a pulley, a', mounted on theroller n2 of the apron and driven by a pulley, n3, mounted on thedriving-shaft c.

O is areceiving-hopper arranged below the head ot' the upper inclinedapron, C, for receiving the iiat and irregular grains carried up by themotion of the apron. rlhe hopper O is provided with a spout, o',discharging upon the lower inclined apron, K, between the cross-bars JJ' thereof and a spout, o2, leading directly to the horizontal apron N.

o3 is a pivoted gate or valve, arranged in the hopper O at the junctionot' the two sponts o' 02, so that the grain can be directed into eitherof these spouts at the desire ot' the operator.

l) is a spout leading from the tail of the upper apron, G, to the tailof the lower inclined apron, K, and Q is a similar spout leading fromthe tail of the apron K to any suitable receptacle.

The operation of my improved machine when used for separating coifee isas follows: The coffee, consisting oi' round grains, tlat andirregularly shaped grains, and black dead grains, is sponted into thehopper F, and delivered from the latter through the adjustable tubeftothe shaking-shoe G. The feed can be adjusted by raising or lowering thetubef, whereby a greater or less amount ot' grain is delivered upon theshoe, and by raising or loweringI the pin h', whereby the stroke ofthelever Ggis changed, and by raising or lowering the rod g', whereby theinclination of the shoe Gr is lessened or increased. The grain isdelivered upon the entire width of the upper inclined apron, C, throughthe holes yi' of the shoe G. The inclination of the apron C is soadjusted that the round grains will roll down and over the tail ot' theapron by gravity and be 'received in the spout P, while the tlat,irregular, and dead grains will lodge and be carried up bythe motion ofthe apron and be discharged over the head ot' the apron into the hopperO. The inclination of the apron will be so adjusted that all the roundgrains will roll down and that all the tlat and irregular It', by badadjustment of the feed or apron, some of the tlat grains roll down withthe round grains, thelower st0ps,j', will arrest them and throw themwith their tlat sides upon the apron, which latter' will then carry themup, while the round grains will pass through the spaces between thestops j' and escape over the tail ot` the apron. lf, from over-feedingor any IOS IIS

other cause, thegrains accumulate upon the apron, the accumulations orheaps are carried up by the apron until they come in contact with theupper stops, j, when the accumulations are destroyed and the grainsspread out, so that if any round grains are contained therein the latterwill be liberated and permitted to roll down over the apron, while thefiat grains are carried up through the spaces between the stops j by themotion of the apron. If the coffee or other grains treated is ot' suchcharacter' that a complete separation of the round grains from the flat,irregular, and dead grains is effected upon the upper inclined apron, C,the gate o3 in the hopper 0 is so placed that the material received inthe hopper 0 is delivered directly to the horizontal apron N throughthespout 02. If,von the contrary, the material received in the hopperO'still contains round grains, the gate o3 is so arranged as to deliverthe material to the second inclined apron, K, through the spout o',where the material is subjected to a second separation similar to thatwhich it has undergone on the apron C. The round grains pass over thetai-l ofthe apron K, and are discharged,

Y together with the round grains from the upper apron, C, through thespout Q, into any suitable receptacle, while the at, irregular, and deadgrains are delivered upon the horizontal apron N, and carried by thelatter in the direction of the arrow toward and over the driving end ofthe apron. While the Vgrain is so being carried by the apron the deadgrainsl are readily picked out by attendants stationed at the side ofthe apron N.

Ordinarily no dead grains are found among lthe round grains dischargedover the tail ends of the inclined aprons C K; but it' the character ofthe grain should be such that some ot' the dead grains would pass overwith the round grains, asecond horizontal apron to receive the roundgrains can be arranged at the opposite end of the machine, when the deadgrains can be separated from the round grains in the same manner thatthey are separated from the flat and irregular grains. Ifthe characterofthe grain is such that a complete separation is not effected by thesecond inclined apron, the number ot' inclined aprons may be increaseduntil a complete separation is obtained.

Itis obvious that my improved machine may be used for separating wheatand oats and various other kinds of grain where the seeds are dissimilarin shape and size.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a machine for separating coffee, 8vo.,the combination, with an inclined separatingapron, whereby the at grainsare elevated while the round grains are permitted to roll downl andescape over the tail of the apron, of a horizontal separating-apronwhich receives one product of the separation from the inclined apron andcarries the same a sui-ticient length of time to permit the removal ot'the worthless grains, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the inclined endless aprons G K and thehorizontal apron N, of the hopper O, spouts o' o2, and gate o3,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the pivoted shoe Gr, of the rod g, lever g2,ratchet-wheel H, and adjustable bolt h', substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the inclined separating-apron, of two or morerows of stops, j, made angular or diamond-shaped in cross-section, andarranged to present sharp edges to the grain flowing over the apron, thestops in the second row being arranged behind the spaces between thestops in the` first row,^

whereby all the flat grains arc intercepted and turned on their flatsides, while the round grains are compelled to pass in a zigzag coursethrough the spaces between the stops.

5. The combination, with the inclined separating-apron, of a feedingapparatus delivering the grain to be separated upon the apron near itshead, stops j, arranged above the feeding-point ofthe apron, and stopsjf, arranged below the feeding-point, whereby the improper movement ofthe grain is checked in both directions, substantially as set forth. Y

6. rlhe combination,with the endless apron C and its supporting-frameC', ot' hangers D,

.secured thereto and pivoted concentric with the driving-shaft c,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination, with the apron C, provided with hangers l), and theapron K, rollers for carrying said apron and supportingframe, the apronbeing hung upon the shaft IOC of its head roller, of the driving-shaftc, pulleys e e and driving-belt e2, and pulleys L Z and driving-belt l,substantiallyas shownand described.

8. rlhe combination, with an inclined endless apron, C, adapted toseparate dat from round grains, of a supplementary separatingapron, Kot'similar construction, arranged below the apron C, and a spout, o',whereby the grain'discharged fromthe head of the apron C is conductedupon the apron K, below the head thereof', for a second separation,substantially as set forth.

. n. B. srEvnNs.

Witnesses:

EDWARD WILHELM, JNO. J. BONNER.

